The composite wound dressing apparatus promotes healing of a wound via the useof an external peristaltic vacuum pump. The external peristaltic pump appliesa vacuum pressure to the wound to effectively draw wound fluid or exudate awayfrom the wound bed. The external peristaltic pump is tethered to the wounddressing and is portable, preferably, carried by the patient in a support bag,which permits patient mobility. Moreover, the patient does not need to beconstrained for any period of time while exudate is being removed from thewound.
